Accidentally Homeschooling...and beyond

As member of the Schoolhouse review crew, I had the opportunity to try a membership to Zane Education. In exchange for the membership, I was obligated to share my opinions on my blog. I am not paid to say nice things, so read on for my thoughts of Zane Education.



Depending on the level of membership you get access to educational videos on demand, learning guides, lesson plans and study tools. In exchange for this review, I was provided with Gold membership for 12 months.

Zane education is a website designed to supplement curriculum and enhance lessons in any subject. The topics, lessons and grade levels are arranged by subject on the site. It was very easy to navigate and find a video on any particular subject.

Here are some things I liked about the site:

1. I loved the variety of offerings. You can view short videos on so many subjects. Actually over 260 different topics. 
2. The speakers in the videos speak slowly and the movies are not flashy, they use colorful photographs.
3. The subtitles at the bottom highlight new vocabulary and important terms in the lesson. The subtitles are an excellent way to reinforce learning.
4. The customer support was prompt. I forgot my password and it was quickly emailed to me.
5. The arrangement of the topics made it easy to find any video.

A few things I didn't like:

1. The math videos were inaccessible from the site. They belong to Kahn Academy and the link is broken.
2. Some of the videos were not things I would share with my kids. For example the topic of teen pregnancy used a film covering a couple and their experience. Not only did the movie show this sad unmarried couple, it offered no hope or message of abstinence. It was tormenting watching it.
3. Some films were boring. I love using videos to supplement lessons if possible, especially in science, but some reminded me of the old filmstrips I watched many moons ago as a child. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to try Zane Education, as I am planning for the next school year, I can see this will be part of our lessons in history and science. In years past, I had subscribed to a similar site, but the cost became prohibitive. Zane Education has many options that won't break your homeschooling budget:

1. Free membership – access to the demo videos, ALL the math videos, and all the quizzes.
2. Topic Taster – $5. a month- Same as free plus all the videos on one topic.
3. Bronze – $8.99 a month or $98.89 a year – Same as free plus all videos by grade.
4. Silver – $12.99 a month or $142.89 – Same as free plus all videos by subject.
5. Gold – $17.99 a month or $197.89 – Same as free plus ALL the videos by topic, grade and subject. Plus the Christian Learning Guide and the Zane Home Learning Guide for free.
6. The Zane Home Learning Guide and the Christian Learning Guide can be purchased for $49.95 or offered free with a one year subscription. 
7. Zane Education is offering a 35% discount on the purchase of any annual 12-month Gold, Silver or BronzeMembership subscription through until the end of August 2012. Use Discount Promotion Code: ZE265HSM

Before you subscribe, I recommend you visit their site and try the free video of the day. Then click on the banner below to see what my crew mates have to say about Zane Education.


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